Academia

We nurture and encourage students, recognising that students have differing abilities, interests and goals. Our formal curriculum is demanding yet sufficiently flexible to allow for different rates of development and learning.

Regardless of ability, temperament or background, it is our goal that every student fulfils his potential.

It is our belief that students benefit most from a full academic and co-curricular program that promotes a variety of learning opportunities, complemented by pastoral care.

Your son will experience:

The full learning spectrum from arts and humanities to sport, science and technology, to help him discover his path in life and flourish.

An extensive list of co-curricular activities, including camps, excursions, performing arts and outdoor education, so that learning does not take place only in the classroom.

Pastoral care support to help him grow as an individual, as well as academically.

Our students consistently rank amongst the highest performers in Victoria according to Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) scores. In recent years our median ATAR has sat above 91 with one in nine students achieving scores of 99 or better – placing them in the top one per cent of the state.

The learning program in the four-year-old Pre-Preparatory Centre is broad and balanced. It combines rich play experiences with a range of guided learning activities that encourage the boys to develop at their own pace. Indoor and outdoor play is highly valued and takes place in a purpose-built centre. Learning is further enhanced through excursions, visitors and special interest days which extend learning. Specialist subject areas include Library, Mandarin Chinese, Music, and Physical Education, which incorporates a learn-to-swim program in Term 4.

We provide a secure, stimulating and challenging environment to help encourage the students’ development and an interest in learning in these vital early years, where a child’s intellectual, social, physical and emotional development builds a strong foundation for future learning and growth.

Attached to the Junior School, the Centre is able to use facilities such as the Library and extensive grounds. A transition program also operates throughout fourth term to facilitate a smooth transition into the primary levels.

Setting the Foundation

From Preparatory to Year 5, teachers deliver an innovative, cohesive and sequential curriculum that reflects an understanding of how boys learn.

The curriculum is organised into core subject areas comprising English, Health and Physical Education, Language in addition to English Mandarin Chinese, Mathematics, Music, Technologies including Digital technologies and Visual Art. Integrated Studies is the area of Humanities and Social Sciences, which includes History, Geography, Science, and Civics and Citizenship (Years 3 to 5) and Economics and Business (Year 5). Students develop skills, values and concepts through the powerful medium of an inquiry-based approach to these Integrated Studies.

Enrichment and support in the Junior School takes many forms with much occurring in the classroom as teachers differentiate for the range of abilities of boys in the various subject areas. The Student Support Unit program provides literacy support and extension, numeracy support and extension and EAL (English as an Additional language).

Opportunities for extension and enrichment are provided through programs such as Science Talent Search, Maths Olympiad, Chess Clubs and Music groups.

In Junior School, our focus is on knowing and nurturing the students during these critical formative years, providing a solid foundation for future learning.

The Transition Years

The Middle School curriculum is broad and diverse, guided by, but not limited to, the content outlined in the Australian Curriculum. All boys study English and History, Mathematics, Science and Geography, Art, Personal and Social Development (PSD), ICT (much of which is embedded in the curriculum) and Languages: Mandarin in Year 6, Mandarin, French, Latin and Indonesian in Year 7, with students selecting two of these languages to continue with in Year 8. All boys participate in Physical Education and Christian Education throughout their years in the Middle School.

Music is taught to all boys in Year 6, the first year of Middle School, and in Year 7, all students participate in Music in Semester 1, with Drama introduced as an elective for non-musicians in Semester 2. Electives options expand in Year 8 to include Music Ensemble, Music Technology (both Composition and Recording), Drama, Film, Robotics and Coding, and Visual Communication and Design.

Data collected from a range of sources, both internal and external, allows teachers to identify individual needs and offer support and extension as required, so that students are able to optimise their learning and progress in their studies, no matter where they are in their learning.

There are opportunities to perform in the Middle School Production, sing in the Choir, participate in Debating, represent the School in sporting activities and play in the Orchestra. Students are involved in fund-raising projects, social events with other schools, and numerous excursions. There are leadership opportunities, including designing learning activities and having a voice in decision-making relating to the Middle School.

A smaller group of teachers, transition activities at each year level, and the opportunity, through the PSD program, for Form Teachers to explore key issues facing boys at this stage of their development – issues such as being responsible and safe in their physical and virtual worlds, negotiating relationships, developing emotional intelligence and resilience, and making healthy choices – are key pillars of our broader curriculum.

Finding the Right Future

We have a philosophical commitment to offering each student a broad liberal curriculum in Years 9 and 10. All students study English, Geography, History, Mathematics and Science. Students are also required to study a Language (LOTE) in both Years 9 and 10, with the School currently teaching Mandarin Chinese, French, Bahasa Indonesia and Latin.

Within both years, elective subjects are offered such as Commerce, Information Technology, Music, Art, Drama, Visual Communication and Design (VCD) and ESL English.

The breadth of these curricular offerings is seen as the best preparation for the selection and study of subjects in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) years. In Year 11 it is expected that most students will study seven subjects, with most students studying five in Year 12. Year 11 students may also study a Unit 3/4 sequence, subject to meeting specified academic requirements.

During Years 11 and 12, students maintain full participation in the sporting program and are encouraged to be involved in extra-curricular interests. In essence, the School believes that the student is best served through a well-rounded academic and co-curricular program that promotes a variety of learning opportunities, complemented by the commitment of the School’s staff and the student’s pastoral care connections to his Tutor, Tutor Group and Head of House.